Rusty, Princess and Cloudtail
Fireheart’s family tree starts outside the Clans. Firestar was born a housecat called Rusty. He left his owners to join ThunderClan, took the warrior name Fireheart and later became Firestar, leader of the Clan.12 His first family stayed behind among the housecats, and the books opened for this page do not name his parents, so the chart draws them as one symbol.
Warriors is written under the pen name Erin Hunter, which covers four writers, and HarperCollins has published it since Into the Wild in 2003.41 The series now runs to nine arcs, has been translated into 38 languages and has sold more than 90 million copies.1 Firestar is the hero of the first arc, and his blood runs through the heroes of later ones, so the chart follows his line across arcs rather than through a single book.
His sister Princess is a fluffy light brown tabby who lives in a Twolegplace, the cats’ word for a human town. In Fire and Ice, the second book of 2003, she gives Fireheart her oldest kit, Cloudkit, to raise in ThunderClan.2 The Clan resents the kit at first because his parents are housecats, and Brindleface becomes his foster mother.2 On the chart a solid line runs from Princess to Cloudtail, and a purple dotted arrow marks Brindleface as his foster mother.
Cloudtail is the first link between Firestar’s two worlds. He is Firestar’s nephew by blood and a ThunderClan warrior by upbringing, and a green arrow on the chart marks the uncle who brought him into the Clan. In the words of one Wikipedia arc article, Fire and Ice leaves Fireheart torn between loyalty to his family and loyalty to his Clan.7
Sandstorm, Squirrelflight and Leafpool
In The New Prophecy, the second arc, published from 2005 to 2006, Firestar leads ThunderClan, and he and Sandstorm have two daughters.37 Squirrelflight is first called Squirrelpaw. Leafpool, first Leafpaw, trains as ThunderClan’s medicine cat.3
Each daughter brings an outsider into Fireheart’s family tree. Squirrelflight’s mate is Brambleclaw, the son of Tigerstar, the villain who visits him and his half-brother Hawkfrost in dreams after his death.3 Their bond breaks and mends across the arc, and the battle of Sunset brings her back to him.3
Leafpool falls in love with Crowfeather, a cat of WindClan whom the arc first calls Crowpaw. The romance is forbidden, and it forces her to choose between her feelings and her Clan.3 The chart joins them with the line of a secret couple, drawn from The New Prophecy on.
Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf
Power of Three, the third arc, published from 2007 to 2009, begins with a prophecy given to Firestar. There will be three, kin of his kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws.4 The three are Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf, and they grow up as the kits of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw.4
Sunrise, the last book of the arc, published in April 2009, tears that belief apart. Jayfeather works out that Leafpool, not Squirrelflight, is their true mother, and Crowfeather of WindClan is their father.54 At a Gathering Crowfeather denies them and says he has no kits besides Breezepelt.5 Brambleclaw breaks with Squirrelflight over the lie.5
The prophecy still holds, because Leafpool is also Firestar’s daughter.4 The arc ends darkly. Hollyleaf turns out to have killed Ashfur, and she runs into a tunnel that collapses and is presumed dead, so Jayfeather decides that only he and Lionblaze are among the Three.54 The chart writes Presumed dead under her name at this point with a broken cross after it, because she is believed dead and is alive. On the chart the Three hang from Leafpool and Crowfeather by solid lines, and dotted foster lines run to them from Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw.
Firestar’s death and Nightheart
Omen of the Stars, the fourth arc, ends with The Last Hope of 2012. In the final battle Firestar destroys the spirit of Tigerstar for good and then dies himself, and Brambleclaw becomes the new leader of ThunderClan.61 The chart marks Firestar’s death at that story point with a cross and draws the dark red arrow of a killing from him to Tigerstar. Hollyleaf comes back in the same arc. In The Forgotten Warrior she leads ThunderClan’s apprentices and warriors to safety, and Lionblaze persuades her to return to the Clan.6 She dies in the final battle and forgives Leafpool as she dies, so her cross stands beside Firestar’s at that point.96
After his death Firestar joins StarClan.1 Brambleclaw, his son-in-law and the son of his old enemy, takes his place as leader, so the son of Tigerstar leads the Clan that Firestar led, with Firestar’s daughter as his mate.63
Fireheart’s family tree keeps growing in the later arcs. In A Starless Clan, the eighth arc, published from 2022 to 2024, one of the heroes is Nightheart.8 The official Warriors site calls Firestar his famous great-grandfather and Squirrelflight his grandmother. His mother is Sparkpelt, his father Larksong died moments after the kits were born, and his sister Finchlight is one of two kits of the litter who survived.10
The official article does not say whether Squirrelflight is the mother of Sparkpelt or of Larksong, and the arc articles opened for this page do not settle it. The chart does not guess. It draws a dashed grey arrow from Squirrelflight to Nightheart, marked as a grandmother whose branch is not given, in place of a parent line.
Fireheart’s family tree arc by arc
Each card gives the family as it stands at the end of one arc. The arcs Dawn of the Clans, A Vision of Shadows and The Broken Code come between Omen of the Stars and A Starless Clan and are not charted here.1 Read each card after its arc.
The Prophecies Begin, 2003 to 2004
Rusty becomes Fireheart
Spoiler note. Nothing beyond the first arc.
- Rusty leaves his owners and joins ThunderClan as Fireheart.
- Princess gives him her oldest kit, Cloudkit, to raise in the Clan.
The New Prophecy, 2005 to 2006
Firestar’s daughters
Spoiler note. Nothing beyond the second arc.
- Firestar and Sandstorm’s daughters Squirrelflight and Leafpool grow up.
- Squirrelflight is drawn to Brambleclaw, and Leafpool to Crowfeather of WindClan.
Sources3
Power of Three, 2007 to 2009
The secret of the Three
Spoiler note. The parents of the Three are revealed.
- The Three are raised as the kits of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw.
- Sunrise reveals Leafpool and Crowfeather as their parents, and Hollyleaf is presumed dead.
Omen of the Stars, 2009 to 2012
The last battle
Spoiler note. Firestar and Hollyleaf die.
- Firestar destroys the spirit of Tigerstar and dies in The Last Hope.
- Brambleclaw becomes leader of ThunderClan.
- Hollyleaf returns to ThunderClan and dies in the final battle.
A Starless Clan, 2022 to 2024
Nightheart
Spoiler note. One later generation.
- Nightheart, son of Sparkpelt and Larksong, carries the name of his great-grandfather.
How to read Fireheart’s family tree
A square is a tom and a circle is a she-cat, and the diamond at the top stands for Firestar’s unnamed housecat parents. A double line is a pair of mates, and the line that drops from it leads to their kits. A dotted line from a pair of mates to a kit marks foster parents, as with Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw and the Three, and a purple dotted arrow marks Brindleface as Cloudtail’s foster mother.
Each group wears its own colour, with a letter at the corner of every cat. Gold is ThunderClan, blue is WindClan and grey is the housecats of the Twolegplace. Crowfeather and Breezepelt are the only WindClan cats on the chart, so the line from Crowfeather down to the Three marks their WindClan blood.
This chart covers Firestar’s own family. The Clans as a whole are far larger, and readers who want every Clan can turn to the official Warriors site. To build a family tree of your own book, open this chart in the editor or start from the story charts. The symbols are set out in the genogram symbols.
Questions about Fireheart’s family tree
Who are Firestar’s kits
Squirrelflight and Leafpool, his daughters with Sandstorm.3
Who are the parents of Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf
Leafpool and Crowfeather. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw raise them, and Sunrise reveals the truth.54
How is Cloudtail related to Firestar
Cloudtail is the son of Firestar’s sister Princess, so he is Firestar’s nephew.2
Is Nightheart related to Firestar
Yes. The official Warriors site calls Firestar his great-grandfather and Squirrelflight his grandmother.10
People and sources
A page of its own lists all 19 characters on the chart, each with a short note and the sources for it, and the ten numbered sources this article cites. It also gives this page as a reference in the APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard styles, ready to copy.